William Saliba has seen an uptick in duels this season, as he has switched roles with Gabriel – the Frenchman is typically the one to be more aggressive, while Gabriel acts as a sweeper.

Saliba has seen a notable increase in fouls from 0.7 per 90 last season, compared to 0.9 per 90 this season. In addition, he had an average of 1.05 tackles per 90 in the previous campaign, rising to 2.25 tackler per 90 this term.

Such a significant increase in duel numbers highlights the above tactical change. If Saliba will be more involved in duels, naturally he becomes more of a target for fouls.

The French international made one foul against Chelsea in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge and he looks likely to do the same here at a nice price.

In the reverse fixture at the Emirates, Jackson drew four fouls in total. He should be directly up against Saliba for this clash, which is a matchup to target.

In that game, Chelsea forced 14 fouls from their London rivals, and 12 fouls at the Emirates despite that game being a 5-0 scoreline.

Expecting another feisty affair, Jackson is likely to be involved, he will be used as an outlet for his side, so should see a fair amount of the ball in midfield areas.

Jackson has been a tough player to contain so far, as he is averaging 1.22 fouls drawn per 90 in all competitions this season, while last time out, he drew three fouls against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Moises Caicedo got on the scoresheet last time out, netting a fantastic volley from the edge of the box to equalise against Manchester United at Old Trafford. That strike ultimately earned his side a point, so the midfielder will be full of confidence coming into this game.

Caicedo has been an important player under Eno Maresca this season, playing the full 90 in nine out of ten Premier League fixtures. In that time, he has managed at least one effort in six of those games.

Notably, this selection has landed in home games against Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Man City – Caicedo registered exactly one shot against these three strong defensive units. All of those shots came from outside the box, which is useful here as Arsenal will limit clear cut chances for Chelsea.

Cole Palmer has already scored seven league goals this season for Chelsea, and has once again been the standout performer in the final third.

He is averaging 3.32 shots per 90, registering two or more shots in eight out of ten league games. That average rises to 3.6 shots per 90 when playing at Stamford Bridge.

It was a similar story last season, as Palmer saw a notable uptick in efforts at goal when playing at home. Palmer accrued an average of 4.42 shots per game at home last season in the Premier League, compared to 2.97 when playing away. He got on the scoresheet in this fixture last season, registering four shots in total.

Arsenal cleared this line in both head-to-head games last season, as they accrued seven corners at Stamford Bridge, before four corners at the Emirates.

In the latter game, Arsenal won 5-0, and were leading from the fourth minute onwards, which was a poor gamestate rack up corners. Even still, they landed this selection.

Arsenal are averaging 6.13 corners per game this season in all competitions while in their previous game against Inter Milan midweek, Arsenal managed 13 corners – they should field a similar lineup to that match.

Chelsea have conceded four or more corners in four out of five games this season – Man Utd, West Ham, Bournemouth and Wolves all hit this line.

Gabriel will be the primary target from corners for Arsenal.
The Brazilian is averaging 1.08 shots per 90, registering at least one shot in eight out of 14 games this season.

Against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, this game is likely to be quite cagey with chances at a premium. Arsenal have typically approached similar fixtures quite cautiously, with a reliance on set-pieces for their chance creation.

For example, Arsenal managed just five shots against Man City at the Etihad, with Gabriel accounting for two of those, including a goal.

Arsenal’s primary set-piece taker, Declan Rice, is a doubt for this clash, but Arsenal will have Bukayo Saka to deputise.

Levi Colwill has consistently been drawing fouls this season, averaging 0.9 fouls drawn per 90 in the league. He has been fouled in eight out of ten league games this season, and now draws an ideal matchup against Kai Havertz.

The German is averaging 1.89 fouls per 90, which is the highest of any Arsenal player. He has been called for an infringement in all 14 starts in all competitions this campaign, including two or more fouls in eight of those.

He made one foul against his former club last time out at the Emirates, but this will likely be his first start at Stamford Bridge as an Arsenal player. Given he will be directly up against Colwill, that is a matchup to target.

Nicolas Jackson has already been shown four yellow cards this season, to go along with six league goals. The Senegal international has landed this selection in seven out of ten league games so far.

That includes each of the last three games – Jackson was shown a card against Man Utd, he scored against Newcastle, and he was shown a yellow card before scoring against Liverpool at Anfield.

He has a tendency to talk himself into bookings, or pick up bookings for delaying the game. In fact, none of his four bookings so far this season have been as a result of fouls. Michael Oliver is the referee for this game, and he has tightened up significantly this season, averaging 5.11 yellows per game.